Something to think about next time you decide to ride the rails: Amtrak has acknowledged that one of its ticketing offices has been “sharing information” about passengers with the Drug Enforcement Administration, and then taking a 10 percent cut of any assets seized from drug couriers.
Something to think about next time you decide to ride the rails: Amtrak has acknowledged that one of its ticketing offices has been “sharing information” about passengers with the Drug Enforcement Administration, and then taking a 10 percent cut of any assets seized from drug couriers.
“We provide a limited amount of information about our passengers to the D.E.A. and other agencies as a part of their law enforcement activities,” said Debbie Hare, an Amtrak spokeswoman. “I can’t tell you how long it has been going on, but this program exists all across the country.”
A computer link from Amtrak’s ticketing terminal in Albuquerque to the local D.E.A. office allows agents to peruse passengers’ names and itineraries and to see whether they paid in cash or credit. The information determines which passengers will be questioned or have their luggage searched by drug-sniffing dogs.
Amtrak and D.E.A. officials defended the practice, which was first reported in The Albuquerque Journal, saying the joint effort has resulted in “substantial” seizures of drugs and cash. Ms. Hare said that any assets received by Amtrak through the program were used for additional law enforcement activities. She also said, “We don’t believe there is a privacy issue here.”
But the sharing has raised some civil libertarian eyebrows — if not made their jaws drop.
“What they are doing raises serious issues about invasions of privacy, about Fourth Amendment protections against unwarranted search and seizures, and about equal protection rights related to profiling by racial or income types,” said Peter Simonson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico. “It is extremely troubling, and we’re investigating it now.”
Author: ROSS E. MILLOY
News Service: The New York Times
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/15/weekinreview/15BOXA.html
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